But yeah he basically got $#@!ty, like blow because MS asked them to have standards and comply with some of their rules.

If I recall Games Informer asked both Blow and Fish for comments on the new Indie options Microsoft has given Indie developers. Both of them didn't want to comment but instead of a simple "I don't want to comment at this time" they both literally just told the GI informative to, in short, eff off. Marcus pretty much hit it on the nail in this regard, if you release games and are rated highly in the Indie community because of them then you are expected to answer questions by the media, it's all part and parcel of the job and fame. This is why Marcus got at them pretty hard but Fish in-particular because of his past outbursts against other developers.

Obviously I wouldn't have put it in quite the way Marcus has said it but he was the only person who had the balls to actually say what everyone has been wanting to say for the last few years regarding Fish. Granted some of the final things said to Fish in the end on twitter was blown out of proportion and way out of order, but if you attack other people frequently throughout the years you are going to get quite a backlash and that was happening. He really needed to sort out his attitude.

Saying Japanese developers make crap games, calling PC gamers a $#@! community, calling gamers whiny, these are just three of the many many things that pissed me off about him. There's no place in the industry for someone with an attitude problem and has zero tact.

I don't mind if people speak their own mind and tell us what they think, but Fish doesn't just do that, he literally just tells everyone they're nothing instead.

oh yeah because now...games are all about the people making them right? Last i checked, Fez was a decently awesome game with mid-high to high ratings... but no, lets stop focusing on the games and focus on the whiny devs, because when i play fez, i want to experience that instead of a fun game. I heard Jonathan Morin say on livejournal that he doesnt like Traditional RPG's... well $#@! HIM! Now im not going to buy Watchdogs... /sarcasm

oh yeah because now...games are all about the people making them right? Last i checked, Fez was a decently awesome game with mid-high to high ratings... but no, lets stop focusing on the games and focus on the whiny devs, because when i play fez, i want to experience that instead of a fun game. I heard Jonathan Morin doesnt like Traditional RPG's... well $#@! that now im not going to buy Watchdogs... /sarcasm

Thats not what this is about.
His relationship with the press is what this is about, both him and Blow were very vocal about Xbox Live, and despite having made a bucket load of money off it, it apparently wasn't enough, because MS made them go through a certification process that same as a professional developer does. The press listened to them.
Hell they even made a movie, and again, have been not at all backwards about game development (Fez II was NOT coming to the Xbox one regardless), so when MS who they had $#@!ed and complained about, actually changed their stance the went "why do you want my opinion?".

Really, FFS, if you $#@! and moan about a company and then when asked about the changes, you $#@! and moan about people asking you about them?

That would have been like asking Nelson Mandela about the collapse of apartheid in South Africa and him getting snotty because you wanted a comment form him.

Thats not what this is about.
His relationship with the press is what this is about, both him and Blow were very vocal about Xbox Live, and despite having made a bucket load of money off it, it apparently wasn't enough, because MS made them go through a certification process that same as a professional developer does. The press listened to them.
Hell they even made a movie, and again, have been not at all backwards about game development (Fez II was NOT coming to the Xbox one regardless), so when MS who they had $#@!ed and complained about, actually changed their stance the went "why do you want my opinion?".

Really, FFS, if you $#@! and moan about a company and then when asked about the changes, you $#@! and moan about people asking you about them?

That would have been like asking Nelson Mandela about the collapse of apartheid in South Africa and him getting snotty because you wanted a comment form him.

$#@!s.

so what does that have to do with a fun game?

like... i get that theyre knob ends, but people saying "yay" "good riddance" dont understand that all that means is 1 less game they get to play... Fez was a great game imo, one of the only indie games i really LOVE on the 360 (along with bastion) so now that Fez II is cancelled kinda sucks... who gives a $#@! about the devs whiny attitude... if the games fun then shut the $#@! up about the stupid dev. (

I agree with Soma it should be more about the games and this childish $#@! shouldnt matter. The only reason i have heard of people like Jonathan Blow and Phil Fish is because they dont shut up. Its not just developers either just look at Michael Pachter can you seriously name another gaming analyst besides him? You cant because hes the only one that doesnt shut the $#@! up.

like... i get that theyre knob ends, but people saying "yay" "good riddance" dont understand that all that means is 1 less game they get to play... Fez was a great game imo, one of the only indie games i really LOVE on the 360 (along with bastion) so now that Fez II is cancelled kinda sucks... who gives a $#@! about the devs whiny attitude... if the games fun then shut the $#@! up about the stupid dev. (

Well, as I said, no one forced him out, he rage quit. It doesn't matter what people think of him, but those that felt he was a $#@! and bad for the industry (or the very lest devisive which he certainly was) at least allowed to voice their pleasure that he has left the industry.

I liked Fez too, but I also wouldn't miss Fez 2.

Free PR for an indie is gold, they cant afford a marketing machine.
Biting the hand that literally feeds you is dumb no matter where you come from.

Without the press, it's likely he wouldn't have got you or me even playing or having heard of the game.

oh yeah because now...games are all about the people making them right? Last i checked, Fez was a decently awesome game with mid-high to high ratings... but no, lets stop focusing on the games and focus on the whiny devs, because when i play fez, i want to experience that instead of a fun game. I heard Jonathan Morin say on livejournal that he doesnt like Traditional RPG's... well $#@! HIM! Now im not going to buy Watchdogs... /sarcasm

Morin made a simple fact opinion on his personal likes, Fish made a non-factual statement and just outright said that Japanese games sucks.

Saying you don't like a genre is a personal opinion but outright saying that developers from another country don't make very good games is not opinionated but discriminating towards developers from that country. And before you say anything I did not say it was racist, I'm saying that he's calling them useless.

Everyone has an opinion on what genres they like and what games they like, but if I said "all games made in America sucks" what would you think of me? There's a reason companies have PR and that's to give good stead for the company and improve profits, having a bad company reputation in a company will lead to your downfall. Fish was giving his company a very bad reputation and it was just a matter of time will it exploded, it has now happened.

The guy is obviously mentally unstable. All of this angst and confrontation is largely self inflicted. He should just keep his head down and spend less time blogging and glued to twitter. That is advice for everyone to live by in my opinion

Originally Posted by Varsh

If I recall Games Informer asked both Blow and Fish for comments on the new Indie options Microsoft has given Indie developers. Both of them didn't want to comment but instead of a simple "I don't want to comment at this time" they both literally just told the GI informative to, in short, eff off. Marcus pretty much hit it on the nail in this regard, if you release games and are rated highly in the Indie community because of them then you are expected to answer questions by the media, it's all part and parcel of the job and fame.

Completely disagree with that. They are not obliged at all to give the press the time of day if they don't want to. Pisses me off that people in all forms of media are so $#@!ing entitled. It must be a pre-requisite to becoming a "journalist". These are game creators not public personalities. Although Phil Fish could do with being reminded of that sometimes, he brings most of the abuse upon himself.

Like I said though all they needed to say is "I don't want to comment at this time", it's such a simple sentence and the media wouldn't need to answer that question, but nope they decided to give a distasteful remark instead. When you become famous you will have the media always come at you so yes you are expected to answer questions, whether they want to or not is up to them but don't lash out at them over a single question. If you can't handle questions get a PR.

like... i get that theyre knob ends, but people saying "yay" "good riddance" dont understand that all that means is 1 less game they get to play... Fez was a great game imo, one of the only indie games i really LOVE on the 360 (along with bastion) so now that Fez II is cancelled kinda sucks... who gives a $#@! about the devs whiny attitude... if the games fun then shut the $#@! up about the stupid dev. (

No, it's NOT just about the game. It's also about the moral values behind it. I refuse to support someone that doesn't deserve jack $#@! because he thinks he can spit into other peoples' faces.

Like I said though all they needed to say is "I don't want to comment at this time", it's such a simple sentence and the media wouldn't need to answer that question, but nope they decided to give a distasteful remark instead. When you become famous you will have the media always come at you so yes you are expected to answer questions, whether they want to or not is up to them but don't lash out at them over a single question. If you can't handle questions get a PR.

Oh and just to show how pathetic both Fish and Blow are then here:

LoL, heartless. Poor asian guy went 'n committed hara-kiri after that. Atleast they explained themselves. They went into detail about what made Japanese games better back in the day, and why they suck now. Even though it was a broad generalization, like American games are all about aiming down sights.

LoL, heartless. Poor asian guy went 'n committed hara-kiri after that. Atleast they explained themselves. They went into detail about what made Japanese games better back in the day, and why they suck now. Even though it was a broad generalization, like American games are all about aiming down sights.

Actually, they didn't explain $#@! and were just boasting their egos...

Actually, they didn't explain $#@! and were just boasting their egos...

They seemed to explain very well what they were talking about. They basically narrowed it down to them believing that Japanese games nowadays take all the magic and fun out of games by treating you like you are a moron and holding your hand throughout the game, forcing you to watch endless scenes that are basically game manuals that go on forever, without letting you have to figure anything out on your own.

They seemed to explain very well what they were talking about. They basically narrowed it down to them believing that Japanese games nowadays take all the magic and fun out of games by treating you like you are a moron and holding your hand throughout the game, forcing you to watch endless scenes that are basically game manuals that go on forever, without letting you have to figure anything out on your own.

The funny thing about all of their explanations is that I can apply that to a good 95% of Western games too, their explanations just did not fit and Blow tried to justify everything and it simply did not work or make any sense. The only problem Japanese games have had of recent years is that they're not being inventive enough, that's it, for games that are inventive enough they're absolutely amazing. The only reason Western games are doing so well this generation is because of Indie games, if it wasn't for that then the industry would be completely stagnant.

Having said that the Japanese Indie industry is only just starting to kick off like it's been happening here for the last few years, just watch this space for this new generation.

No, it's NOT just about the game. It's also about the moral values behind it. I refuse to support someone that doesn't deserve jack $#@! because he thinks he can spit into other peoples' faces.

you must not play many games then? seriously, if you value the morale of everyone involved in any game, dont limit it to one game because its in the news... make sure you keep it balanced and take into account EVERYONE in EVERY game that has some off-kilter remark, or moral choice...

you must not play many games then? seriously, if you value the morale of everyone involved in any game, dont limit it to one game because its in the news... make sure you keep it balanced and take into account EVERYONE in EVERY game that has some off-kilter remark, or moral choice...

I wouldn't know about EVERYONE in EVERY game because they keep their opinions to themselves or retain a neutral stance. I'm sure my moral values would collide with those of other people as well but at least I'm not yelling around like that Fish dude.

He seems to believe that PUBLICLY insulting others is a good idea. And it isn't. Simple.